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Picta
Picta is the country north of Araluen, and it is home to the wild tribes of the Scotti who live in the southern regions. Geography Picta is a country to the immediate north of Araluen. To the north of Picta is the Western Ocean. To the east is the Narrow Sea and across this sea is Gallica. To the west lies the Endless Ocean. There is a small mountain range in the midsection of Picta and a mountain range that separates it from Araluen. In the west of Picta flows the Craiskill River, which flows into the sea next to the Mull of Linkeith. Climate Picta is a very cold and bitter place much like Norgate Fief in Araluen. The northern section may not have a lot of inhabitants, as a majority of the Scotti live in the southern section. Government Picta is controlled by various clans and there is no centralized government. Each clan is controlled by a warlord; for example, Caleb MacFrewin controls the MacFrewin clan. It is unknown how these Clans interact with one another, though it can be inferred that they are a martial people, as a Warlord is known to be a high rank in Picta. Military Each clan has its own armies and generals. Rank * Warlord: The senior leader of the clan who has total control. *'General: '''The military leaders of a clan. There are two types of generals. A higher rank and a lower rank or general of the second. These generals are identified by blue stripes on their faces. *'Common Soldier: '''These are the regular fighting men of a clan. They have blue paint around their eyes. Diplomacy The Scotti have mixed feelings against Araluen. Some Scotti clans are friendly to Araluen and may come to help during times of war like in The Burning Bridge, some are hostile like the clans (MacFrewin, MacHaddish, MacKentick) that had ambitions to invade Norgate Fief. During the events of The Tournament at Gorlan it was mentioned that Araluen had a peace treaty with picta that was likely broken by the time of the main books. They also have good relations with the kingdoms of Hibernia and Celtica, as they were a triumvate in the past. Religion The Scotti are generally superstitious, their most dangerous demon is the Serthrek'nish. The only thing that keeps him at bay is a ring of ash. Malcolm uses this creature to frighten General MacHaddish into telling him the plans of the Scotti in The Siege of Macindaw. Trivia *Picta is loosely based on Scotland, a country north of England. The origin of Picta is in the word describing the early inhabitants of Scotland, who were known as Picts, or the Painted People. Scotti is a reference to the Gaelic people who would later colonize Scotland, giving their name to the country. These northern people were famous for wearing woad (blue paint) into battle, and, after the practice of wearing woad fell out of use, they would become famous for their distinctive tartan clothing. The Clan structure is also indicative of Scottish origin, as well as the use of the term "Mac" in many of their clans, "Mac" meaning "Son of" (i.e. "MacFrewin" means "Son of Frewin") *The Scotti write in Scottic Runes; as almost no Scotti can read or write, there also aren't many outsiders who can read them. pl:Picta Category:Countries